If it's new on the web site, you'll find it here! If it's an announcement for Marine Corps families, you'll find it here! The most recent announcements will be at the top.

Be sure to sign up for our twice-monthly newsletter to get additional updates and news. There's a signup box at the bottom of every page of the web site.

On Thursday, July 24th, 2008 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (central time), we invite you to chat online with Dr. Bridget Cantrell, author and expert on homecomings, PTSD, and combat recovery. The chat will be held in the MarineParents.com Chat Room. It is free and open to the public. Dr. Cantrell is co-author of the critically acclaimed Downrange to Iraq and Back, and the new Once a Warrior: Wired for Life.
Click here to learn more...

On July 1, 2008 a fire at the outpost of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, Lima Co. in Fallujah Iraq destroyed all the wooden structures and most of the Marines' personal belongings. Concerned members of the Marine family community rallied together to answer calls from family members of 3/6 Lima Marines, to help resupply their destroyed personal items.

A generous outpouring of support has helped to re supply these Marines but now it is time to shift the support elsewhere. Please see an important letter from the Public Affairs Officer at 2nd Marine Division.
http://www.marineparents.com/announcements/threesix-lima-fire.asp

SunNight Solar donated 1000 solar-powered flashlights to be shipped to Marines overseas through The Care Package Project™. We've heard from the Marines and they're using the flashlights. See what they had to say...
http://www.marineparents.com/announcements/sunnight.asp

On Monday morning, June 30th, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008. A new, more generous GI Bill, offering educational benefits similar to that offered to World War II veterans, has been realized.
http://www.marineparents.com/announcements/GI-new.asp

The America Supports You (ASY) Freedom Walk began four years ago in Washington DC and has since become a national tradition drawing participants from across the country.
http://www.marineparents.com/announcements/asy.asp

Kyndra Rotunda, Esquire, Author, and the military law columnist for our twice-monthly newsletter, will appear on "Hannity’s America" Sunday evening, June 29 on Fox News. He'll be talking about her new book, Honor Bound. I just finished the book; it's very intriguing. To learn more, please see:
http://www.marineparents.com/announcements/honor-bound.asp

Our first regional conference will be held in Kansas City, MO on Saturday, August 9, 2008. Our opening session on Saturday morning will include speakers from the Marine Corps office MobCom on the topic of IRR (Independent Ready Reserves) followed by breakout sessions ranging from MREs and scrapbooking to deployment and warrior transitioning. The focus of the conference will be broad and include topics and speakers on a wide-range of Marine Corps issues.

Registration for the 1-day event begins today; $100 includes the conference plus the evening dinner and program. You can register for all or part of the events.

The conference will be held at the Hilton Kansas City Airport with rooms available at $89/night for conference attendees. Free shuttle service is provided back and forth to the Kansas City airport.

For additional information and to register online, please visit the web site.
Click to learn more...

In 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the original GI Bill; it was called the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act". The World War II GI Bill covered tuition, fees, and books, and gave veterans a living stipend while they were in school. Eight million combat veterans returning home from Germany and Japan were able to afford an education and a 1988 Congressional study showed that every dollar spent on educational benefits under the original GI Bill added seven dollars to the national economy in terms of productivity, consumer spending, and tax revenue.
Click to learn more...

The post office has raised the prices for shipping flat rate boxes to $9.80 which increases our costs for shipping 1000 packages every 10 weeks significantly. Each summer, we find ourselves short on funds to send the care packages overseas to our Marines in August. Our total cost for shipping in August will be $9800. We need your help today!
Click to learn more...

May is National Military Appreciation Month. To show your support, buy a pair of the best socks for a Marine from Covert Threads and we'll send them in the care packages on June 7. "The Marines wear the best; let the terrorists wear the rest!"
Click here to read more...

The socks are $8/pair. To purchase online for us to ship to Marines, go to: MarineParentsInc.com/nmam-covert.asp. All major credit cards are accepted.

On Thursday, May 29, 2008 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (central time), we invite you to chat online with Dr. Bridget Cantrell, author and expert on homecomings, PTSD, and combat recovery. The chat will be held in the MarineParents.com Chat Room. It is free and open to the public. Dr. Cantrell is co-author of the critically acclaimed Downrange to Iraq and Back, and the new Once a Warrior: Wired for Life.
Click here to learn more...

Operation Cancun Honeymoon has raised over $7000 in less than a month! At the Third Annual National MarineParents.com Conference, Corporal Aaron Mankin was a guest speaker. It was decided at that time to raise the necessary funds to send the Corporal and his wife Diane on their honeymoon!
Click here to read more...

The radio interview with Dr. Bridget Cantrell and Debbie Chavez, talk show radio host, will air on Monday, May 5 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To listen online during that time, go to:
www.debbiechavez.com. The interview will kept in archives for three months.

The current educational benefits for today's returning troops are far lower than the original GI Bill. In addition bureaucratic delays discourage veterans from using their GI Bill benefits. IAVA addresses critical issues facing veterans who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan related to mental health issues, TBI and educational benefits. To learn more about the GI Bill 2008, IAVA and The Post 9/11 Veteran's Education Assistance Act; visit our Veteran's Benefits page. Veteran's Benefits

This is our fourth year shipping Girl Scout Cookies® to the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, and this is the biggest shipment ever! We have 1,000 cases of Girl Scout Cookies® (that's 12,000 boxes!) arriving in our warehouse in March. We'll ship these cookies to Marines deployed to Iraq in addition to our regularly scheduled care packages. That means we need to raise 100% of the funds ($10,950) to ship the cookies. We need your help collecting donations.
Click here to learn more...
Click here to donate...

Connie McClellan is a Marine Parent whose son, John McClellan was injured in combat not once, not twice, but three times. John was dubbed "Lucky" by a Stars in Stripes correspondent after his second gunshot wound sustained in Afghanistan. Connie has written a book that tells the story of the journey her family has taken during this incredible time in their lives.
Click here to read more...

The 3rd Annual Marine Parents Conference will be held in the Washington, DC area, April 18-20, 2008 at the beautiful Doubletree Hotel, located across from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The pre-conference will be held April 17-18, 2008.

The Marine Corps is rich in history, and our Nation's Capital is an extraordinary place to celebrate that history. The Pre-Conference All-Day Tour on Friday will take you through years of the Marine Corps, from the amazing National Museum of the Marine Corps, to the famous 8th & I Marine Corps Barracks, Iwo Jima, and an exhibition of our own Marines making history today: the Silent Drill Platoon.

Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, the lead investigator into the looting of Baghdad’s Iraq Museum in 2003, will open a new window of historical perspective for you during the richly illustrated keynote at Saturday's Benefit Dinner. Colonel Bogdanos is a spit-and-polish Marine, a competitive boxer, a classics scholar, and an assistant DA in Manhatton. It is truly an honor to host Colonol Bogdanos as our keynote speaker this year.

General Session topics and speakers on Saturday will include Veterans' Ombudsman Pat Rowe Kerr delivering the morning general session on Veteran's Benefits. Immediately following will be a panel led by Colonel Bryan P. McCoy for the combat deployment session. That afternoon, Dr. Bridget Cantrell will present a discussion panel on Traumatic Stress Injury and Warrior Transitioning.

• Learn more at the web site: MarineConference.com
• Register online: MarineParentsInc.com/Conference.asp
• Make hotel reservations: Doubletree.Hilton.com/CrystalCity

The Gilyeat family from Kansas City, KS has received the surprising news that Ty and the gang will build them a new, renovated home in just seven days in a special two-hour episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service announced today that its Board of Governors approved two new initiatives to grow its shipping business and revenue. A new, larger Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box enables customers to ship 50 percent more than with the current box. It will be offered at a discount to overseas military addresses, a postal first for the armed forces. For full press release from the USPS, see:
USPS Web Site Press Release
Click for PDF Version

A beautiful project to honor our veterans this holiday season. The Wreaths Across America story began over 15 years ago when Worcester Wreath Company started a tradition of placing wreaths on the headstones of our Nation's fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery. Over that period of time, Worcester Wreath has donated 75,000 wreaths which were placed by volunteers in a wreath-laying ceremony each December. Sponsorships are now being accepted for 2008 Christmas wreaths.

For 2007, all wreath-laying ceremonies will be held concurrently on Saturday, December 15th, at 12:00 noon EST. For more information, to sponsor a 2008 wreath, and to find a ceremony near you, see: www.Wreaths-Across-America.org

For $22, you can give the gift of troop support this Christmas season by purchasing a care package sponsorhip for everyone on your gift list!

Through The Care Package Project™, you can sponsor a care package to be sent to a Marine in Iraq on January 5, 2008. Or, purchase a gift sponsorship this holiday season, and we'll send a gift card to your gift recipient letting them know that a care package will be sent on his/her behalf to a Marine in Iraq. Your gift recipient's name will be included in the overseas package.
Purchase a gift sponsor using our secure online interface: MarineParentsInc.com/gift.asp

Christmas is around the corner and it's time to Deck the Halls with Yellow Ribbons in honor of our Troops this holiday season!

The season of giving challenges us to find unique and memorable gifts for our friends and family. MarineParents.com has many gift items available for purchase through several venues and allows your giving to show two-fold generosity: for your loved ones plus giving back to MarineParents.com, Inc. for our many Outreach Programs to support the Marines and their families.

We've provided a selection of the items we offer here on our "Christmas Catalog" page for your shopping ease. You're sure to find gifts to please the Marine Corps enthusiasts on your list!

Thank you for supporting MarineParents.com this holiday season. We appreciate your support! MarineParents.com, Inc. is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity. All proceeds go to MarineParents.com, Inc.
MarineParents.com/shopping/christmas.asp

We have published a page of official and verified information on the San Diego Fires and how that may affect our recruits and Marines at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD San Diego) and Camp Pendleton. It's on the RecruitParents.com website. The link follows: www.RecruitParents.com

This Friday, October 19, 2007 from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (central time) we invite you to chat online with Dr. Bridget Cantrell, Author and expert on homecomings, PTSD, and combat recovery. The chat will be held in the MarineParents.com Chat Room. It is free and open to the public. Dr. Cantrell is co-author of the critically acclaimed Downrange to Iraq and Back, and the new Once a Warrior: Wired for Life.
Click here for chat transcript.

• Click here for more information
• Click here for chat room
• Click to purchase Once a Warrior

SATO and American Airlines have a new program up and running for upcoming homecoming events at Camp Pendleton. The part that helps our families the most is this: "The normal change fee is waived--due to a change in the service members arrival date for as many times as necessary through SatoVacations (if the customer calls AA directly there will be a $15 change fee)."

Other bases may take advantage of this program as well. However, they must provide Nancy Oliviero (contact information in document) with their base and airport information so those airports can be added to the contract. At this point, the following airports are included: San Diego (SAN), John Wayne (SNA) and Los Angeles (LAX).

To take advantage of this offer, call toll free 877-698-2554. Read restrictions and parameters in PDF file link below. Feel free to share this information with everyone immediately!
Click here to download a PDF file with full details...

We've just added YARD SIGNS to our inventory in the online stores. We've got signs to welcome home your Marine, to congratulate your new Marine after graduation, and to announce "The Proud Family of a U.S. Marine". The signs are made of durable vinyl, printed on both sides and come with the metal stakes required to proudly display in your yard! Special introductory price for a limited time. For orders over $50, use coupon code WACKYFENCES to receive $5 off. Coupon expires Oct 13. To order visit our online stores or click here: www.Cafepress.com/MarineParentInc

Twenty-one year old former Marine Neil Schalk is much more than a “hot bachelor” and the subject of attention for many young women. He is a Purple Heart hero from Muscoda, Wisconsin. He and his family are very involved with Team Marine Parents and Purple Heart Family Support. Neil's sister Natalee, has nominated him as Cosmopolitan's Bachelor of the Year, 2007.

Hurry! Voting ends at midnight eastern time October 11. To read more and vote for Wisconsin's Neil Schalk as Cosmopolitan's Bachelor of the Year Click here...

A new book by Dr. Bridget Cantrell and Chuck Dean. Recommended reading for all families and military personnel who have or will experience deployment to a combat zone.
Click to order...

From the Founder, Tracy Della Vecchia
"The book was beyond my expectations. I finally 'get it'. I finally understand that our sons and daughters will all have a tough time returning to civilian life--they don't have to have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) or COS (Combat Operational Stress) to have concerns about returning home and adjusting back to a civilian lifestyle. And I understand why now. That knowledge and understanding will help me help other families, and most importantly, help me to help my son."
Click to read more...